Gaming devices with choice of collecting or surrendering award

ABSTRACT

Systems, apparatuses and methods for providing options in gaming activities to take an offered award or to surrender it to play for more favorable awards. In one embodiment, a number of available awards are presented and at least one is selected for or by the player. The player can choose to keep the current award, or to surrender it to obtain a chance to obtain a different award. If the player surrenders the current award, the player is provided with selectable award advancement alternatives from which to select, including an option to obtain a new award positioned relative to the surrendered one of the available awards and an option requiring that the surrendered one of the available awards be retained. In response to the player selecting the option to obtain a new award positioned relative to the surrendered one of the available awards, the new award is identified.

FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to games, and more particularly tosystems, apparatuses and methods for providing options in gaming eventsto accept or risk awards.

BACKGROUND

Casino games such as poker, slots, and craps have long been enjoyed as ameans of entertainment. Some of these games originated using traditionalelements such as playing cards or dice. More recently, gaming deviceshave been developed to simulate and/or further enhance these games whileremaining entertaining. The popularity of casino gambling with wageringcontinues to increase, as does recreational gambling such asnon-wagering computer game gambling. Part of this popularity is due tothe increased development of new types of games that are implemented, atleast in part, on gaming devices.

One reason that casino games are widely developed for gaming devices isthat a wide variety of games can be implemented on gaming devices,thereby providing an array of choices for players looking to gamble. Forexample, the graphics and sounds included in such games can be modifiedto reflect popular subjects, such as movies and television shows. Gameplay rules and types of games can also vary greatly providing manydifferent styles of gambling. Additionally, gaming devices requireminimal supervision to operate on a casino floor, or in other gamblingenvironments. That is, as compared to traditional casino games thatrequire a dealer, banker, stickman, pit managers, etc., gaming devicesneed much less employee attention to operate.

With the ability to provide new content, players have come to expect theavailability of an ever wider selection of new games when visitingcasinos and other gaming venues. Playing new games adds to theexcitement of “gaming.” As is well known in the art and as used herein,the term “gaming” and “gaming devices” generally involves some form ofwagering, and that players make wagers of value, whether actual currencyor something else of value, e.g., token or credit. Wagering-type gamesusually provide rewards based on random chance as opposed to skill,although some skill may be an element in some types of games. Sincerandom chance is a significant component of these games, they aresometimes referred to as “games of chance.”

The present disclosure describes systems, apparatuses and methods thatfacilitate new and interesting gaming experiences, and provideadvantages over the prior art.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to systems, apparatuses,computer-readable media, and/or methods that are configured to provideoptions in gaming events to accept or risk award. For example, oneembodiment involves systems, apparatuses, computer-readable media,and/or methods that involve or otherwise facilitate providing an optionin a base game or bonus/auxiliary game feature to take an offered awardor risk it to try to obtain a more favorable award.

In one embodiment, a slot game device/apparatus is provided thatincludes at least a display, user interface, wager input device, andprocessor. The display presents symbol locations that form a symbolarray. The user interface includes at least one user input to enable aplayer to initiate a slot game event presented via the symbol array. Thewager input device is structured to identify and validate player assets,and to permit the player to play the slot game event when the playerassets are provided. The processor is configured with software to createoperational modules to provide a number of available awards, andrandomly select one of the available awards. In various embodiments, therandom selection may be by the device/apparatus, or by the player. Theprocessor is further configured to create operational modules to providethe player an option to keep a currently-selected one of the availableawards or to surrender the currently-selected one of the availableawards for a chance to obtain a different award. In response to theplayer surrendering the currently-selected one of the available awards,the processor is configured to provide the player a plurality of hidden(until selected) selectable award advancement alternatives from which toselect, including an option to obtain a new award positioned relative tothe surrendered one of the available awards and an option requiringreinstatement of the surrendered one of the available awards. Inresponse to the player selecting the option to obtain a new awardpositioned relative to the surrendered one of the available awards, theprocessor is configured to identify the new award among the plurality ofavailable awards.

According to more particular embodiments of such a slot game device, theprocessor may be configured to provide the plurality of available awardson a visible grid having respective ones of the available awards indifferent segments of the visible grid. This may be done such that theavailable awards having a relatively high value are separated by atleast one of the available awards having a relatively low value.

In another embodiment, the processor may be configured to provide theplurality of available awards on a visible rotatable wheel havingrespective ones of the available awards in different segments of thevisible rotatable wheel. This may be done such that the available awardshaving a relatively high value are separated by at least one of theavailable awards having a relatively low value.

In still other embodiments of such a slot game device, the processor maybe configured to identify the new award by selecting one of theplurality of available awards based on its relative position to thecurrently-selected one of the available awards. In other embodiments,the processor is further configured to enable player selection of anyone of a plurality of the available awards that are within apredetermined proximity of the currently-selected one of the availableawards. In various embodiments, the new award may have a value that islower, or higher, than the previously selected one of the availablerewards.

In another embodiment, a slot game device is provided that includes atleast a display, user interface, wager input device, and processor. Thedisplay presents symbol locations that form a symbol array. The userinterface includes at least one user input to enable a player toinitiate a slot game event presented via the symbol array. The wagerinput device is structured to identify and validate player assets, andto permit the player to play the slot game event when the player assetsare provided. The processor is configured with software to createoperational modules to offer a current award from a plurality ofavailable awards, and facilitate player acceptance or rejection of thecurrent award. In response to player rejection of the current award, theprocessor is configured to provide a plurality of concealed new awardoffer options to the player, where the plurality of new award offeroptions include at least an offer for a different award from theplurality of available awards to replace the current award, and adirective to retain the current award. The processor is configured tofacilitate player selection of one of the plurality of new award offeroptions, grant the current award if the player selection resulted in thedirective to retain the current award, and establish the different awardas the current award if the player selection resulted in the offer forthe different award. In the case where the player has elected tosurrender the current award to try to get a different award, the processcan continue by reoffering the new award to the player, enabling theplayer to accept or reject the new award, provide new award offeroptions to the player from which the player can select, etc.

In more particular embodiments of such a slot game device, the processormay be configured to grant the current award to the player, anddiscontinue further processing of new awards, in response to playeracceptance of the current award.

In other embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the displayto present the plurality of available awards on a grid, where in yetother embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the display topresent the plurality of available awards on a rotatable wheel.

In another embodiment of such a slot game device, the processor isconfigured to offer a current award from a plurality of available awardsby randomly identifying the current award from a grid having gridpositions each respectively providing one of the plurality of availableawards. In another embodiment, the processor is configured to providethe new award offer option of an offer for a different award byproviding an offer for one of the plurality of available awardspositioned in one of the grid positions adjacent to the grid position ofthe current award.

In still another embodiment of such a slot game device, the processor isconfigured to offer a current award from a plurality of available awardsby randomly identifying the current award from a segment of anelectronic rotatable wheel having multiple segments each respectivelyproviding one of the plurality of available awards. In anotherembodiment, the processor is configured to provide the new award offeroption of an offer for a different award by providing an offer for oneof the plurality of available awards positioned in one of the segmentsof the wheel positioned adjacent to the segment of the wheel of thecurrent award.

Another embodiment of such a slot game device involves the processorconfigured to offer the current award from the plurality of availableawards in connection with a bonus event triggered by a predeterminedsymbol or combination of symbols in the symbol locations of the symbolarray.

This summary serves as an abbreviated, selective introduction of arepresentative subset of various concepts and embodiments that arefurther described or taught to those skilled in the art in theSpecification herein. This summary is not intended to refer to allembodiments, scopes, or breadths of claims otherwise supported by theSpecification, nor to identify essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a representative gaming machine capable offacilitating player use and interaction with games and features inaccordance with the invention and representative embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a representative computingarrangement capable of implementing games and features in accordancewith the invention and representative embodiments described herein.

FIG. 3 depicts one embodiment of a gaming award selection featureaccording to the principles described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment where the gaming award selectionfeature is provided in a bonus event of a slot game.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative manner for presenting available awardsin a gaming award selection feature.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are block diagrams of representative slot gameapparatuses for providing options in gaming events to accept or riskawards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various exemplary embodiments, referenceis made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration representative embodiments inwhich the features described herein may be practiced. It is to beunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized, as structural andoperational changes may be made without departing from the scope of thedisclosure.

In the description that follows, the terms “reels,” “cards,” “decks,”and similar mechanically descriptive language may be used to describevarious apparatus presentation features, as well as various actionsoccurring to those objects (e.g., “spin,” “draw,” “hold,” “bet”).Although the present disclosure may be applicable to manual, mechanical,and/or computerized embodiments, as well as any combinationtherebetween, the use of mechanically descriptive terms is not meant tobe only applicable to mechanical embodiments. Those skilled in the artwill understand that, for purposes of providing gaming experiences toplayers, mechanical elements such as cards, reels, and the like may besimulated on a display in order to provide a familiar and satisfyingexperience that emulates the behavior of mechanical objects, as well asemulating actions that occur in the non-computerized games (e.g.,spinning, holding, drawing, betting). Further, the computerized versionmay provide the look of mechanical equivalents but may be generallyrandomized in a different way. Thus, the terms “cards,” “decks,”“reels,” “hands,” etc., are intended to describe both physical objectsand emulation or simulations of those objects and their behaviors usingelectronic apparatuses.

In various embodiments, the gaming displays are described in conjunctionwith the use of data in the form of “symbols.” In the context of thisdisclosure, a “symbol” may generally refer at least to a collection ofone or more arbitrary indicia or signs that have some conventional ordefined significance. In particular, the symbol may represent valuesthat can at least be used to determine whether to award a payout. Asymbol may include numbers, letters, shapes, pictures, textures, colors,sounds, etc., and any combination therebetween. A play state, such as awin, can be determined by comparing the symbol with one or more othersymbols. Such comparisons can be performed, for example, via software bymapping numbers (or other data structures such as character strings) tothe symbols and performing the comparisons on the numbers/datastructures. Other conventions associated with known games (e.g., thenumerical value/ordering of face cards and aces in card games) may alsobe programmatically analyzed to determine winning combinations.

Generally, systems, apparatuses and methods are described for providinggaming awards, and facilitating a player's acceptance of the award, orsurrender of the award in an effort to obtain a more favorable award.Embodiments include providing an option in a bonus to take an offeredaward or risking it to play for a bigger and/or more favorable award inthe bonus in gaming activities. The systems, apparatuses and methodsdescribed herein may be implemented as a single game, or part of amulti-part game. For example, the game features described herein may beimplemented in primary gaming activities, bonus games, side bet games orother secondary games associated with a primary gaming activity. Thegame features may be implemented in stand-alone games, multi-playergames, etc. Further, the disclosure may be applied to games of chance,and descriptions provided in the context of any representative game(e.g. slot game) is provided for purposes of facilitating anunderstanding of the features described herein. However, the principlesdescribed herein are equally applicable to any game of chance where anoutcome(s) is determined for use in the player's gaming activity.

Embodiments of the present concept include providing gaming devices(also referred to as gaming apparatuses or gaming machines), gamingsystems, and methods of operating these devices or systems to providegame play that enables offered awards to be rejected, and risked, infavor of potentially obtaining a better award. These systems,apparatuses and methods, in various embodiments, utilize operations ofproviding an option in a bonus to take an offered award or risking it toplay for a bigger award in the bonus. In one embodiment, a method ofoperating a gaming device includes a pick bonus in which player israndomly placed on a grid of possible bonus rewards. The player may thenchoose between sticking with the reward associated with the gridposition they are currently on, or selecting a jump card which willeither move them to an adjacent reward or end the bonus, awarding themtheir current award.

Numerous variations are possible in view of these and other embodimentsof the inventive concept. Representative embodiments and variations aredescribed herein, with some embodiments described with reference to thedrawings. However, many other embodiments and variations exist that arecovered by the principles and scope of this concept. For example,although some of the embodiments discussed below involve reel-based slotmachine examples of this concept, other embodiments include applicationof these inventive techniques in other types of slot games, poker games,roulette, bingo, or other games of chance. Some of these other types ofembodiments will be discussed below as variations to the examplesillustrated. However, many other types of games can implement similartechniques and fall within the scope of the concepts taught herein.

Referring to the example gaming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, therepresentative gaming apparatus includes at least a display area(s) 102(also referred to as a gaming display), and a player interface area(s)104, although some or all of the interactive mechanisms included in theuser interface area 104 may be provided via other or additional means,such as graphical icons used with a touch screen in the display area 102in some embodiments. The display area 102 may include one or more gamedisplays 106 (also referred to as “displays” or “gaming displays”) thatmay be included in physically separate displays or as portions of acommon large display. Here, the representative game display 106 includesat least a primary game play portion 108 that displays game elements andsymbols 110, and an operations portion 109 that can include meters,various game buttons and other input mechanisms, and/or other gameinformation for a player of the gaming device 100.

The user interface 104 allows the user to control, engage in play of,and otherwise interact with the gaming machine 100. The particular userinterface mechanisms included with user interface 104 may be dependenton the type of gaming device. For example, the user interface 104 mayinclude one or more buttons, switches, joysticks, levers, pull-downhandles, trackballs, voice-activated input, touchscreen input, tactileinput, and/or any other user input system or mechanism that allows theuser to play and interact with the particular gaming activity.

The user interface 104 may allow the user or player to enter coins,bills, or otherwise obtain credits through vouchers, tokens, creditcards, tickets, electronic money, etc. Various mechanisms for enteringsuch vouchers, tokens, credit cards, coins, tickets, etc. are describedbelow with reference to FIG. 2. For example, currency input mechanisms,card readers, credit card readers, smart card readers, punch cardreaders, radio frequency identifier (RFID) readers, and other mechanismsmay be used to enter wagers. The user interface 104 may also include amechanism to read and/or validate player information, such as playerloyalty information to identify a user or player of the gaming device.This mechanism may be, for example, a card reader, biometric scanner,keypad, or other input device. It is through a user interface such asthe user interface 104 that the player can initiate and engage in gamingactivities. While the illustrated embodiment depicts various buttons forthe user interface 104, it should be recognized that a wide variety ofuser interface options are available for use in connection with thepresent invention, including pressing buttons, touching a segment of atouch-screen, entering text, entering voice commands, or other knowndata entry methodology.

The game display 106 in the display area 102 may include one or more ofan electronic display, a video display, a mechanical display, and fixeddisplay information, such as pay table information associated with aglass/plastic panel(s) on the gaming machine 100 and/or graphicalimages. The symbols or other indicia associated with the play of thegame may be presented on an electronic display device or on mechanicaldevices associated with a mechanical display. Generally, in someembodiments, the display 106 devotes the largest portion of viewablearea to the primary gaming portion 108. The primary gaming portion 108may provide visual feedback to the user for any selected game. Theprimary gaming portion 108 may render graphical objects such as cards,slot reels, dice, animated characters, and any other gaming visual knownin the art. The primary gaming portion 108 may also inform players ofthe outcome of any particular event, including whether the eventresulted in a win or loss.

In some example embodiments illustrated herein, the primary gamingportion 108 may display a grid (or equivalent arrangement) of gameelements 110 or game element positions (also referred to herein as “reelstop positions”). As illustrated in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, thegrid includes three rows and five columns of game elements 110, whichmay form a game outcome(s) of a game play event from which prizes aredetermined. In some slot machine examples, each column may display aportion of a game reel. The game reels may include a combination of gamesymbols in a predefined order. In mechanical examples, the game reelsmay include physical reel strips where game symbols are shown in imagesfixed on the reel strips. Virtual reel strips may be mapped to thesephysical reel positions shown on the reel strips to expand the range ordiversity of game outcomes. In video slot examples, reel strips may beencoded in a memory or database and virtual reels may be used for thegame reels with images representing the data related to the reel strips.In other slot machine embodiments, each reel stop position on the gridmay be associated with an independent reel strip. In yet other slotmachine embodiments, reels and/or reel strips may not be used at all indetermining the symbols shown in the game element positions of the grid.For example, a symbol may be randomly selected for each game elementposition, or the symbols may be determined in part by game eventsoccurring during game play, such as displayed elements being replaced bynew game elements or symbols. Numerous variations are possible forimplementing slot-type game play.

The primary gaming portion 108 may include other features known in theart that facilitate gaming, such as status and control portion 109. Asis generally known in the art, this portion 109 provides informationabout current bets, current wins, remaining credits, etc. associatedwith gaming activities of the grid of game elements 110. The controlportion 109 may also provide touchscreen controls for facilitating gameplay. The grid of game elements 110 may also include touchscreenfeatures, such as facilitating selection of individual symbols, or usercontrols over stopping or spinning reels. The game display 106 of thedisplay area 102 may include other features that are not shown, such aspay tables, navigation controls, etc.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates a particular implementation of some of theembodiments of this invention in a casino or electronic gaming machine(“EGM”), one or more devices may be programmed to play variousembodiments of the invention. The concepts and embodiments describedherein may be implemented, as shown in FIG. 1, as a casino gamingmachine or other special purpose gaming kiosk as described herein, ormay be implemented via computing systems operating under the directionof local gaming software, and/or remotely-provided software such asprovided by an application service provider (ASP). Casino gamingmachines may also utilize computing systems to control and manage thegaming activity, although these computing systems typically includespecialized components and/or functionality to operate the particularelements of casino gaming machines. Additionally, computing systemsoperating over networks, such as the Internet, may also includespecialized components and/or functionality to operate elementsparticular to these systems, such as random number generators. Anexample of a representative computing system capable of carrying outoperations in accordance with the principles described herein isillustrated in FIG. 2.

Hardware, firmware, software or any combination thereof may be used toperform the various gaming functions, display presentations andoperations described herein. The functional modules used in connectionwith the disclosure may reside in a gaming machine as described, or mayalternatively reside on a stand-alone or networked computer. Therepresentative computing structure 200 of FIG. 2 is an example of acomputing structure that can be used in connection with such electronicgaming machines, computers, or other computer-implemented devices tocarry out operations of the present invention. Although numerouscomponents or elements are shown as part of this computing structure 200in FIG. 2, additional or fewer components may be utilized in particularimplementations of embodiments of the invention.

The example computing arrangement 200 suitable for performing the gamingfunctions described herein includes a processor, such as depicted by therepresentative central processing unit (CPU) 202, coupled to memory,such as random access memory (RAM) 204, and some variation of read-onlymemory (ROM) 206 or other persistent storage. The ROM 206 may alsorepresent other types of storage media to store programs, such asprogrammable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), or any technologycapable of storing data. The processor 202 may communicate with otherinternal and external components through input/output (I/O) circuitry208 and bussing 210, to communicate control signals, communicationsignals, and the like.

The computing arrangement 200 may also include one or more data storagedevices, including hard and floppy disk drives 212, CD-ROM drives 214,card reader 215, and other hardware capable of reading and/or storinginformation such as DVD, etc. In one embodiment, software for carryingout the operations in accordance with the present invention may bestored and distributed on a CD-ROM 216, diskette 218, access card 219,or other form of computer readable media capable of portably storinginformation. These storage media may be inserted into, and read by,devices such as the CD-ROM drive 214, the disk drive 212, card reader215, etc. The software may also be transmitted to the computingarrangement 200 via data signals, such as being downloadedelectronically via a network, such as local area network (casino,property, or bank network) or a wide area network (e.g., the Internet).Further, as previously described, the software for carrying out thefunctions associated with the present invention may alternatively bestored in internal memory/storage of the computing device 200, such asin the ROM 206.

The computing arrangement 200 is coupled to one or more displays 211,which represent a manner in which the gaming activities may bepresented. The display 211 represents the “presentation” of the gameinformation in accordance with the disclosure, and may be a mechanicaldisplay showing physical spinning reels, a video display, such as liquidcrystal displays, plasma displays, cathode ray tubes (CRT), digitallight processing (DLP) displays, liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS)displays, etc., or any type of known display or presentation screen.

Where the computing device 200 represents a stand-alone or networkedcomputer, the display 211 may represent a standard computer terminal ordisplay capable of displaying multiple windows, frames, etc. Where thecomputing device 200 represents a mobile electronic device, the display211 may represent the video display of the mobile electronic device.Where the computing device 200 is embedded within an electronic gamingmachine, the display 211 corresponds to the display screen of the gamingmachine/kiosk.

A user input interface 222 such as a mouse, keyboard/keypad, microphone,touch pad, trackball, joystick, touch screen, voice-recognition system,card reader, biometric scanner, RFID detector, etc. may be provided. Theuser input interface 222 may be used to input commands in the computingarrangement 200, such as placing wagers or initiating gaming events onthe computing arrangement 200, inputting currency or other paymentinformation to establish a credit amount or wager amount, inputting datato identify a player for a player loyalty system, etc. The display 211may also act as a user input device, e.g., where the display 211 is atouchscreen device. In embodiments, where the computing device 200 isimplemented in a personal computer, tablet, smart phone, or otherconsumer electronic device, the user interface and display may be theavailable input/output mechanisms related to those devices.

Chance-based gaming systems such as slot machines, in which the presentinvention is applicable, are governed by random numbers and processors,as facilitated by a random number generator (RNG) or other randomgenerator. The fixed and dynamic symbols generated as part of a gamingactivity may be produced using one or more RNGs. RNGs may be implementedusing hardware, software operable in connection with the processor 202,or some combination of hardware and software. The principles describedherein are operable using any known RNG, and may be integrallyprogrammed as part of the processor 202 operation, or alternatively maybe a separate RNG controller 240 that may be associated with thecomputing arrangement 200 or otherwise accessible such as via a network.The RNGs are often protected by one or more security measures to preventtampering, such as by using secured circuitry, locks on the physicalgame cabinet, and/or remote circuitry that transmits data to the gamingdevice.

The computing arrangement 200 may be connected to other computingdevices or gaming machines, such as via a network. The computingarrangement 200 may be connected to a network server(s) 228 in anintranet or local network configuration. The computer may further bepart of a larger network configuration as in a global area network (GAN)such as the Internet. In such a case, the computer may have access toone or more web servers via the Internet. In other arrangements, thecomputing arrangement 200 may be configured as an Internet server andsoftware for carrying out the operations in accordance with the presentinvention may interact with the player via one or more networks. Thecomputing arrangement 200 may also be operable over a social network orother network environment that may or may not regulate the wageringand/or gaming activity associated with gaming events played on thecomputing arrangement.

Other components directed to gaming machine implementations includemanners of gaming participant payment, and gaming machine payout. Forexample, a gaming machine including the computing arrangement 200 mayalso include a payout controller 242 to receive a signal from theprocessor 202 or other processor(s) indicating a payout is to made to aplayer and controlling a payout device 244 to facilitate payment of thepayout to the player. In some embodiments, the payout controller 242 mayindependently determine the amount of payout to be provided to theparticipant or player. In other embodiments, the payout controller 242may be integrally implemented with the processor 202. The payoutcontroller 242 may be a hopper controller, a print driver,credit-transmitting device, bill-dispensing controller, accountingsoftware, or other controller device configured to verify and/orfacilitate payment to a player.

A payout or payment device 244 may also be provided in gaming machineembodiments, where the payment device 244 serves as the mechanismproviding the payout to the player or participant. In some embodiments,the payment device 244 may be a hopper, where the hopper serves as themechanism holding the coins/tokens of the machine, and/or distributingthe coins/tokens to the player in response to a signal from the payoutcontroller 242. In other embodiments, the payout device 244 may be aprinter mechanism structured to print credit-based tickets that may beredeemed by the player for cash, credit, or other casino value-basedcurrency or asset. In yet other embodiments, the payout device 244 maysend a signal via the network server 228 or other device toelectronically provide a credit amount to an account associated with theplayer, such as a credit card account or player loyalty account. Thecomputing arrangement 200 may also include accounting data stored in oneof the memory devices 204, 206. This accounting data may be transmittedto a casino accounting network or other network to manage accountingstatistics for the computing arrangement or to provide verification datafor the currency or currency-based tickets distributed by the payoutdevice, such as providing the data associated with the bar codes printedon the currency-based tickets so they are identifiable as valid ticketsfor a particular amount when the player redeems them or inserts them inanother gaming device.

The wager input module or device 246 represents any mechanism foraccepting coins, tokens, coupons, bills, electronic fund transfer (EFT),tickets, credit cards, smart cards, membership/loyalty cards, or anyother player assets, for which a participant inputs a wager amount. Thewager input device 246 may include magnetic strip readers, bar codescanners, light sensors, or other detection devices to identify andvalidate physical currency, currency-based tickets, cards withmagnetized-strips, or other medium inputted into the wager input device.When a particular medium is received in the wager input device 246, asignal may be generated to establish or increase an available creditamount or balance stored in the internal memory/storage of the computingdevice 200, such as in the RAM 204. Thereafter, specific wagers placedon games may reduce the available credit amount, while awards won mayincrease the available credit amount. It will be appreciated that theprimary gaming software 232 may be able to control payouts via thepayment device 244 and payout controller 242 for independentlydetermined payout events.

Among other functions, the computing arrangement 200 provides aninteractive experience to players via an input interface 222 and outputdevices, such as the display 211, speaker 230, etc. These experiencesare generally controlled by gaming software 232 that controls a primarygaming activity of the computing arrangement 200. The gaming software232 may be temporarily loaded into RAM 204, and may be stored locallyusing any combination of ROM 206, drives 212, media player 214, or othercomputer-readable storage media known in the art. The primary gamingsoftware 232 may also be accessed remotely, such as via the server 228or the Internet.

The primary gaming software 232 in the computing arrangement 200 may bean application software module. According to embodiments of the presentinvention, this software 232 provides a slot game or similar game ofchance as described herein. For example, the software 232 may present,by way of the display 211, representations of symbols to map orotherwise display as part of a slot based game having reels. However, inother embodiments, the principles of this concept may be applied topoker games or other types of games of chance. One or more alignedpositions of these game elements may be evaluated to determine awardsbased on a pay table. The software 232 may include instructions toprovide other functionality as known in the art or as described andshown herein.

As described above, embodiments of the present concept include providinggaming systems, gaming devices, and methods of operating thesesystems/devices to provide game play that utilizes operations, forexample, of providing an option in a bonus to take an offered award orrisk it to play for a different, hopefully more preferable, award in agaming bonus feature. In one embodiment, a method of operating a gamingdevice includes a pick bonus in which player is randomly placed on agrid of possible bonus rewards. The player may then choose betweensticking with the reward associated with the grid position they arecurrently on, or selecting a jump card which will either move them to anadjacent reward or end the bonus, awarding them their current award.

FIG. 3 depicts one embodiment of a gaming award selection featureaccording to the principles described herein. The feature may beassociated with a primary or base game, or may be associated with someauxiliary gaming feature of such a game, such as a bonus feature that isavailable in response to some other gaming event or random occurrence.For purposes of the description of the embodiment of FIG. 3, it is notrelevant what triggered the feature.

In this embodiment, something in the base game, bonus game, etc.provides a manner in which a plurality of potential gaming awards arepresented, with (at least) one of the gaming awards being identified asawarded to the player. In the example of FIG. 3, the potential gamingawards are presented as a grid 300 of awards, depicted as awards A-1through A-16, which are visible to the player in one embodiment (and notvisible to the player until a selection is made in other embodiments).All of these awards may be unique relative to one another, or some mayrepresent the same award. These awards may include, for example,indications of credits won, free games, modifiers (e.g., payoutmultipliers), progressive jackpots, and/or anything else that may havevalue to the player. In one embodiment, one or more of the available“awards” may be a zero or no award, a negative or detrimental award,etc. However, in one embodiment, each of the available awards in thegrid 300 may at least potentially provide additional gaming assets tothe player.

In one embodiment, the award that is initially granted to the player israndomly selected. In the example of FIG. 3, award A-6 302 has beenrandomly identified as an award offered to the player. As noted above,this may be provided in connection with a bonus game, such as when somegaming triggering event occurs (including a mystery/random bonus) thatpresents the grid 300. In accordance with the principles describedherein, the player may then be offered a choice whether to keep theoriginally offered award A-6 302, or to surrender the offered award andrisk its value in the hopes of obtaining a better award. While suchplayer decision may be presented to the player and managed in anydesired way, FIG. 3 depicts a user interface 304 having at least acollect user input 306 to retain and therefore collect the offered awardA-6-302, and a risk input 308 to surrender the offered award A-6 302 andwork towards obtaining a better award, with the knowledge that whatmight be subsequently obtained may be less favorable than the award A-6302 that was already offered to the player.

If the player chooses to collect the offered award (e.g., by way of therepresentative collect user input 306), that offered award (A-6 302 inthis example) is then granted 310 to the player. In one embodiment, thegaming/bonus feature then ends, although in other embodiments, theprocess may be performed multiple times. If the player chooses to riskthe offered award (e.g., by way of the representative risk user input308), the player may responsively be presented with some manner ofadjusting the offered award on the grid 300.

For example, the award modification selection module 312 may include aplurality of available actions, such as one or more new award actions314, and a collect action 316. The particular action selected mayautomatically be randomly selected for the player, or the player may beprovided an opportunity to make a random selection that identifies theaction made available to the player. For example, the player may beallowed to select from a plurality of hidden actions, where a selectedaction is presented to the player upon its selection. As otherembodiments herein described, such selection may be performed in anydesired manner, such as selecting one of a plurality of action icons,one of a plurality of cards, etc.

In this example, assume that the award modification selection module 312enables the player to select a card from a plurality of cards, one ormore of which identify an award collect action 316, and one or more ofwhich identify a new award action 314. If the player selects a collectaction 316, then the player is granted the original award A-6 302, i.e.the selection did not result in enabling the player to further theattempt to get a better award. In such case, the player receives theaward A-6 302, and the gaming feature/bonus then ends in someembodiments.

On the other hand, if the player selects a new award action 314, thendepending on the game rules, the player will be directed to the grid 300to obtain a new award offer. For example, the game rules may indicatethat receipt of a new award action 314 allows the player to select, as anew award offer, any award in the grid 300 that is adjacent to thepreviously offered award. Adjacency may be defined as sharing a linearborder (e.g., awards A-2 320, A-7 322, A-10 324, A-5 326), or may bedefined to further include diagonally adjacent (e.g., further includingawards A-1 328, A-3 330, A-11 332, A-9 334). In these embodiments, theplayer may select among the visible adjacent awards on the grid 300,choosing a more desirable award, if one exists.

The player may continue to risk offered awards to move towards a desiredaward, such as a major jackpot award or other high-value award. Whileiteratively moving towards a desired destination on the grid 300, theplayer may obtain a collect action 316, which ends the bonus. Thus, theplayer may risk larger award payouts and move through smaller or lessdesirable payouts, in the hopes of obtaining an even larger payout. Onerisk is that the player may be forced to take a less desirable payoutalong the way, as a result of getting a collect action 316 card or otherlesser result (e.g., one or more other cards may have set credit valuesor other awards that cause the bonus to end). In this manner, the playermay take repeated steps in an effort to reach a desired award on thegrid 300.

In other embodiments, new award actions 314 may have other instructions,such as move two spaces in any direction or in a particular direction(and wrap around when reaching the grid 300 border), move in a pattern,move to a random location, etc. For example, an new award action 314 mayspecify a direction and number of grid locations that the player mustmove relative to the current award position A-6 302. One example is thataward A-2 320 is a major jackpot award, so the player risks the A-6 302award in the hopes of being moved to the A-2 320 major jackpot. If thereceived new award action 314 indicates that the player must movedownward one location, the player then is offered the award A-10 324rather than what the player hoped for which was award A-2 320.

In another embodiment, the selection to collect the offered award orrisk it (e.g., via user interface mechanisms 306, 308 respectively) isnot performed. In such an embodiment, the player is automaticallypresented with the choice of actions from the award modificationselection module 312, such as selecting a card from a plurality ofcards.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment where the gaming award selectionfeature is provided in a bonus event of a slot game. The slot game grid400 includes a grid of symbol locations in which gaming symbols arepresented. The gaming award selection feature described herein may betriggered in any desired fashion, including randomly such as in amystery bonus, based on a predetermined symbol combination(s), etc. Inthe illustrated embodiment, it is assumed that a predeterminedcombination of bonus symbols will trigger the gaming award selectionfeature described herein, such as receiving three bonus symbols 402, 404and 406 anywhere on the slot game grid 400.

In the illustrated embodiment, when the bonus feature is triggered, anaward grid 408 is presented to the player. The award grid 408 includesmultiple award indications in the spaces of the grid 408. The grid maybe any shape, size, number, etc. In this embodiment, the award grid 408has 40 different award indications, including credit awards, freegame/spin awards, progressive jackpots, multiplier windows that remainactive for some number of games/spins, extra lives (e.g., to overcome a“collect” directive when the player wants to try to continue riskingawards for different awards), and/or any other desired award.

In one embodiment, at least one of the award indications in the awardgrid 408 is randomly selected and presented to the player. Theembodiment of FIG. 4 depicts award 410 as the randomly selected award,which is a 5× multiplier window in this example. The 5× multiplierwindow would, for example, enable the player to multiply any winningsfor some number of spins by five.

In accordance with one embodiment, the player is then allowed to eitherkeep the granted award 410, or surrender it in an attempt to obtain whatthe player may believe to be a better award, or to obtain a lesser awardbut to attempt to move in the direction of a better award. If the playerchooses to keep the granted award 410, the bonus event may end, and theplayer is awarded the award that he/she chose to keep. If the playerchooses to risk the granted award 410, a random award modificationinstruction may be presented to the player. For example, the randomaward modification instruction may require that the player keep thecurrent award, thereby discontinuing the player's attempt to improve theaward. The award modification instruction may alternatively provide theplayer with a new position on the grid 408, or provide an instruction ofwhere the new award is positioned relative to the award that is beingsurrendered in favor of the new award.

In one embodiment, rather than being presented with an awardmodification instruction, the player may again be allowed to select froma plurality of selectable items to determine what the award modificationinstruction will be. The selection, in one embodiment, is performedwithout knowledge of which award modification instruction is beingselected, but rather is a blind or random selection. FIG. 4 depicts anembodiment of a selection process where the player is allowed to selectone of a plurality of selectable items, such as selecting a card 420from a presentation of some number of cards such as a deck 422 of cards.Each of the cards may include any number of instructions to point theplayer to a new position on the grid 408, collect the current award,etc. In this example, it is assumed that each of the cards of the deck422 has either a jump 420A indication or a collect 420B indication. Inone embodiment, picking a collect 420B card causes theexisting/surrendered award 410 to be reinstated for the user, and thebonus ends. Picking a jump 420A card causes a new award on the grid 408to be identified for the player. Depending on the established rules, thenew award may be selected from the grid 408 at a position relative tothe existing, prior award 410. For example, if the rules indicate thatthe new award is adjacent to and shares a border with the prior award410, then the player may be allowed to select one (or more in someembodiments) of the awards 412 (300 credits), 414 (200 credits), or 416(500 credits). In one embodiment, upon making such a selection, theprocess can continue, where the player is given an opportunity to keepor risk the new award (e.g., 412, 414 or 416), and thereby continue totry to improve the granted award.

As an example, assumed that a player has received a bonus feature due tothe presentation of three bonus symbols 402, 404, 406, therebypresenting the award grid 408, and the initial award 410 to the player.The player chooses to risk the offered award 410 of 5× multiplier windowto get a more favorable bonus award, and thereby notifies thesystem/device of this choice (e.g., via a user interface). The player ispresented with a deck 422 of cards, and the player selects one card 420,which turns out to be a jump card 420A, with game rules that the playeris allowed to select a new award that is adjacent to the prior award410. This returns the player to the grid 408 where such selection may bemade. Assume that the player ultimately has his/her eye on the jackpot418 award, which may be a large award relative to other awards in thegrid 408. The player therefore knows that award 412 or 416 would movethe player one step closer to the jackpot award 418. Assume the playerselects award 416 (500 credits), and then is again presented with thechoice to either keep the award 416, or surrender it try for a new awardagain. By separating the larger awards from smaller awards, the playermay ultimately surrender a relatively large award to ultimately reach aneven larger award, while being forced to stop on smaller intermediateawards than were previously surrendered by the player where a collectcard 420B may end the bonus feature with the smaller award. However, ifthe player obtains enough jump cards 420A, a targeted award on the grid408 may be obtained.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, after the bonus is triggered, a playericon or chip is placed on a credit value in a grid 408 like the oneshown in FIG. 4. The player is then presented with a deck 422 of “jumpcards.” There are two types of cards in the deck: Jump 420A and Collect420B. Here, the player has the option of taking the award covered bytheir chip or drawing a card from the deck 422. If the player draws aJump card 420A, they are allowed to move their chip one space and theyare presented with the option to draw again. If the player draws aCollect card 420B they are awarded the value covered by their chip onthe grid 408. The awards on the board may be highly varied in value,from small/medium credit values to large progressives, base gamemultiplier windows, free games triggers, a jackpot, and/or other desiredawards. If the player found themselves on a “premium” value, they mayhave to decide whether to risk it in order to move to better premiumvalue. In one embodiment, no two premium values are adjacent to oneanother, to increase the player intrigue. According to otherembodiments, instead of Jump and Collect cards 420A, 420B, the Jumpcards 420A may specify a direction where the player's chip will movenext. This may move the player away from an award they were hoping tomove to. Consequently, where all or some of the Jump cards 420A includea direction of movement from the current spot on the grid 408, thedirection may in fact move away from where the player had hoped to moveon the grid 408, thereby making the risk versus reward balance andassociated decisions interesting and challenging to the player.

In various embodiments, the “movement rules” of the game are known tothe player, and therefore the player has some sense of the balance ofrisk versus reward. For example, if the movement rules of the gameindicate that a jump card 420A results in user-selected movement choice(in some embodiments), or game-selected movement choice (in otherembodiments) to a position with no intermediate symbols (e.g., adjacenton at least both borders and corners), adjacent on rectangular borders,within two (or more) awards on the grid 408, whether direction can beselected or is provided via the available jump options, etc. By knowingthese established movement rules, the player can make decisions to tryto move about the grid 408 to ultimately reach a desired award, or atleast an improved award, knowing that intermediate steps may risk whatwas already had. In other words, while the player may choose to try tojump multiple awards on the grid 408 to reach a desired award, a collectcard 420B may occur during that trek through the grid, resulting in alesser award than might have already been available to retain.

Other embodiments involve arranging or presenting the available awardsin other manners, different from a grid (e.g., grid 408 of FIG. 4), suchas onto a wheel 500 as shown in FIG. 5. The wheel 500, as well as thegrid 408 or other manner of presenting awards, may be a physicalstructure or electronically depicted (e.g., virtual grid or virtualwheel). The wheel 500 may have as many segments or “wedges” as desired,and awards may be unique on each segment or there may be duplicates ofone or more awards. The representative wheel 500 includes sixteensegments, each having an award associated therewith. For example,segments 502, 506, 510, 514, 516, 520, 524, 528, and 530 each have acredit value associated therewith. Segments 504, 512, 518, and 526 areeach associated with progressive jackpots, and segment 508 is associatedwith the largest jackpot. Other awards may be provided such as depictedat segment 532 which awards free games, segment 522 which awards amultiplier window, etc.

In one embodiment, the player begins the bonus feature by spinning thewheel 500 to receive a random award. The player may then have the optionof taking the award shown, or voluntarily surrendering the award for achance to get a new more favorable award. In an embodiment using a groupof cards such as described in connection with FIG. 4, the player mayselect a card, which is either a jump card 420A or collect card 420B(see FIG. 4) in this example. If the player selects the collect card,the award identified by the award indicator 534 is awarded, and in oneembodiment the bonus ends. If the player selects the jump card, thewheel 500 (or the indicator 534) may nudge up or down (clockwise orcounter-clockwise) a specified number of wedges on the wheel 500 toidentify a different, new award. The player could repeatedly surrenderobtained awards and draw cards until opting to collect or drawing acollect card from the deck (or other random selection manner).

These bonus events providing gaming event options to accept or riskreceived awards can be used in connection with any game of chance,including slot games, poker games, keno, roulette, bingo, and the like.They may be provided using physical structures, or electronic structurescreated in computing hardware and displayed as virtual structures ofsuch physical structures. As previously noted, the gaming eventsdescribed herein may alternatively, or additionally, be provided as abase game of chance rather than a bonus or secondary event.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram of a representative slot game apparatus forproviding options in gaming events to accept or risk awards. In thisembodiment, a slot game device 600 is provided on which players can playslot games. The representative slot game device 600 includes at least adisplay 602 presenting a slot game symbol array or “grid” 604 of symbollocations, a user interface 606 including at least one user input 608 toenable a player to initiate a slot game event presented via the slotgame grid 604, and a wager input device 610 structured to identify andvalidate player assets and ultimately permit the player to play the slotgame event when the player assets are provided. The slot game device 600also includes a processor 612 configured to offer 614 a current awardfrom a bank of available awards, and allow 616 the player to eitheraccept or reject the offered current award. If the player accepts thecurrent award as determined at decision block 618, the current award isgranted 626 to the player. Otherwise, if the player does not accept thecurrent award but rather rejects it in the hopes of obtaining a morefavorable award, new award offer options are provided 620 to the player.In one embodiment, the new award offer options include at least an offerfor a different award from the plurality of available awards to replacethe current award, and a directive to retain the current award. Theplayer is allowed 622 to randomly select one of the new award offeroptions (although in other embodiments one of the new award offeroptions is selected by the system and presented to the player). It isdetermined 624 whether the player selected the offer for a differentaward or selected to retain the current award. If the player decides 524to retain the current award, then the current award is granted 626 tothe player. If the player decides 524 to surrender the current award andpursue an offer for a different award, the offered different award isset 628 to or otherwise becomes the current award. At this point, theplayer may begin the process over, where the new current award can beaccepted or rejected, new award offer options can be presented andselected by the player, etc. In this manner, the player can continue torisk the current award as long as desired, until deciding to keep acurrent award or until the new award offer options cause the player tokeep the current award and discontinue the pursuit of a more favorableaward.

The slot game device 600 configures the processor 612 (which may includeone or more cooperative processing devices) to structurally programfunctional elements into hardware modules. Processor 612 circuitryconfiguration thus changes based on the modules developed by software tocarry out the desired methodology. For example, the processor 612 isprogrammed by software/code to create a hardware-based module to offer614 a current award from a plurality of available awards, and to createother such software/code modules for each of the operations 614-628.

Other structural modules may be created on the slot game device using aproperly configured processor 612. Referring now to the example of FIG.6B, the processor 612 may be configured into programmed modules toprovide 630 a grid of available awards, and randomly select 632 one (ormore) of the available awards. The player is provided with an option tokeep a currently-selected available award or to surrender thecurrently-selected available award for a chance to obtain an improvedaward, and the player makes this decision 634 whether to keep orsurrender the selected award. If the player chooses to keep it, thecurrent award is granted 640 to the player. If the player chooses tosurrender the selected award and risk it to possibly obtain a differentaward, the player is provided 636 with selectable award advancementalternatives (including an option to obtain a new award positionedadjacent to the surrendered one of the available awards and analternative requiring reinstatement of the surrendered one of theavailable awards). If the player does not select the option to obtain anew award as determined at decision block 638, in one embodiment thealternative selection is to retain the current award, which is thengranted 640 to the player. Otherwise, if the player selected the optionto obtain a new award as determined at decision block 638, the new awardis identified 642 as a new award for the player to keep or furtherdecide to surrender in the hopes of obtaining a more favorable award.

The foregoing description of the representative embodiments has beenpresented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light ofthe above teaching. For example, the present invention is equallyapplicable in electronic or mechanical gaming machines, and is alsoapplicable to live table versions of gaming activities that are capableof being played in a table version (e.g., machines involving poker orcard games that could be played via table games).

Some embodiments have been described above, and in addition, somespecific details are shown for purposes of illustrating the inventiveprinciples. However, numerous other arrangements may be devised inaccordance with the inventive principles of this patent disclosure.Further, well known processes have not been described in detail in ordernot to obscure the invention. Thus, while the invention is described inconjunction with the specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings,it is not limited to these embodiments or drawings. Rather, theinvention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, andequivalents that come within the scope and spirit of the inventiveprinciples set out above.

What is claimed is:
 1. A slot game device comprising: a displaypresenting a plurality of symbol locations forming a symbol array; auser interface including at least one user input to enable a player toinitiate a slot game event presented via the symbol array; a wager inputdevice structured to identify and validate player assets, and to permitthe player to play the slot game event when the player assets areprovided; and a processor configured to: provide a plurality ofavailable awards; randomly select one of the available awards; providinga player an option to keep a currently-selected one of the availableawards or to surrender the currently-selected one of the availableawards for a chance to obtain a different award; in response to theplayer surrendering the currently-selected one of the available awards,provide the player a plurality of concealed selectable award advancementalternatives from which to select, including an option to obtain a newaward positioned relative to the surrendered one of the available awardsand an option requiring reinstatement of the surrendered one of theavailable awards; and in response to the player selecting the option toobtain a new award positioned relative to the surrendered one of theavailable awards, identify the new award among the plurality ofavailable awards.
 2. The slot game device of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to provide the plurality of available awards ona visible grid having respective ones of the available awards indifferent segments of the visible grid.
 3. The slot game device of claim2, wherein the processor is configured to provide the plurality ofavailable awards on the visible grid such that the available awardshaving a relatively high value are separated by at least one of theavailable awards having a relatively low value.
 4. The slot game deviceof claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to provide the pluralityof available awards on a visible rotatable wheel having respective onesof the available awards in different segments of the visible rotatablewheel.
 5. The slot game device of claim 4, wherein the processor isconfigured to provide the plurality of available awards on the visiblerotatable wheel such that the available awards having a relatively highvalue are separated by at least one of the available awards having arelatively low value.
 6. The slot game device of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to identify the new award by selecting one ofthe plurality of available awards based on its relative position to thecurrently-selected one of the available awards.
 7. The slot game deviceof claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to enable playerselection of any one of a plurality of the available awards that arewithin a predetermined proximity of the currently-selected one of theavailable awards.
 8. The slot game device of claim 1, wherein the newaward has a lower value than the previously selected one of theavailable rewards.
 9. The slot game device of claim 1, wherein the newaward has a greater value than the previously selected one of theavailable rewards.
 10. A slot game device comprising: a displaypresenting a plurality of symbol locations forming a symbol array; auser interface including at least one user input to enable a player toinitiate a slot game event presented via the symbol array; a wager inputdevice structured to identify and validate player assets, and to permitthe player to play the slot game event when the player assets areprovided; and a processor configured to: (a) offer a current award froma plurality of available awards; (b) facilitate player acceptance orrejection of the current award; (c) in response to player rejection ofthe current award, provide a plurality of concealed new award offeroptions to the player, wherein the plurality of new award offer optionsinclude at least an offer for a different award from the plurality ofavailable awards to replace the current award, and a directive to retainthe current award; (d) facilitate player selection of one of theplurality of new award offer options; (e) grant the current award if theplayer selection resulted in the directive to retain the current award;and (f) establish the different award as the current award, and repeat(b)-(f) if the player selection resulted in the offer for the differentaward.
 11. The slot game device of claim 10, wherein the processor isconfigured to grant the current award to the player, and discontinuefurther processing of (b)-(f), in response to player acceptance of thecurrent award.
 12. The slot game device of claim 10, wherein theprocessor is further configured to cause the display to present theplurality of available awards on a grid.
 13. The slot game device ofclaim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to cause thedisplay to present the plurality of available awards on a rotatablewheel.
 14. The slot game device of claim 10, wherein the processor isconfigured to offer a current award from a plurality of available awardsby randomly identifying the current award from a grid having gridpositions each respectively providing one of the plurality of availableawards.
 15. The slot game device of claim 14, wherein the processor isconfigured to provide the new award offer option of an offer for adifferent award by providing an offer for one of the plurality ofavailable awards positioned in one of the grid positions adjacent to thegrid position of the current award.
 16. The slot game device of claim10, wherein the processor is configured to offer a current award from aplurality of available awards by randomly identifying the current awardfrom a segment of an electronic rotatable wheel having multiple segmentseach respectively providing one of the plurality of available awards.17. The slot game device of claim 16, wherein the processor isconfigured to provide the new award offer option of an offer for adifferent award by providing an offer for one of the plurality ofavailable awards positioned in one of the segments of the wheelpositioned adjacent to the segment of the wheel of the current award.18. The slot game device of claim 10, wherein the processor isconfigured to offer the current award from the plurality of availableawards in connection with a bonus event triggered by a predeterminedsymbol or combination of symbols in the symbol locations of the symbolarray.